The university will continue operations through the remainder of the 2025–2026 academic year, according to a message addressed to faculty and staff.
The sisters and board announced William Bisset would be stepping down as the university’s president and that the Sisters of St. Francis have appointed Sister Nancy Linenkugel, OSF, to serve in his place during the transition.
Bisset is the former vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at Marymount University.
“For decades, the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania have supported and sustained Lourdes University with extraordinary generosity, faith, and commitment,” the message said. “That support has been both steadfast and sacrificial. However, the sisters can no longer continue to subsidize the university at the level required to sustain its operations.”
The sisters and board said they plan to address how the decision will affect faculty, staff, and students “directly.”
Lourdes University was founded in 1958 as a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio, as “a liberal arts-based institution inspired by Catholic and Franciscan traditions,” its website states.